Envelope and stamp moistener



(NoModeL) A J ELIAS.

ENVELOPE AND STAMP MOISTENER.

No. 401,141. PatentedApr. 9, 1889.

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I Witnesses Inventor:

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UNITED STATES PATENT @FNQE ABRAHAM .T. ELIAS, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

ENVELOPE AND STAMP MOISTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,141, dated April 9, 1889.

Application filed January 2, 1889 To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABRAHAM J. ELIAS, of Bu ffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements on Envelope and Stamp Moisteners and I do hereby declare that the follow ing description of my said invention, taken in connection with the accompanying sheet of drawings, forms a full, clear, and exact specification, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My present invention has general reference to improvements in envelope and stamp moisteners; and it consists, essentially, in the novel and peculiar combination of parts and details of construction, as hereinafter first fully set forth and described, and then pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings already mentioned, which serve to illustrate my said invention more fully, Figure 1 is afront elevation of my improved envelope and stamp moistener. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional elevation in line :0 (c of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. l is a front elevation slightly modified.

Like parts are designated by corresponding letters of reference in all the figures.

lhe object of my present invention is the product-ion of a simple and inexpensive device for moistening gununed envelopes, postage-stamps, etc.

To attain this result I construct a reservoir, A, to contain water, of afiat tube of any suitable material, and of a Width varying from one-fourth to three-fourths of an inch, (more or less,) having on its lower end a contracted portion, a, and on its upper end a neck, B, for the reception of a cork, stopper, or screw-cap, C, a washer, I), being interposed between the flange E on the upper end of the said neck and the cap 0, so as to hermetically seal the vessel A on its upper end.

In the interior of the vessel A, I locate a lamp-wick, 1 the lower end, H, of which is passed through the contracted portion a of said tube A and fits the same a very snug fit, so that water contained in the chamber G, be ing the interior of the vessel A, cannot escape Serial No. 295,1l7. (llo model.)

from the same except through said wick, and the latter, being fitted snugly, as described, will permit of the escape of but a very small portion of the liquid, so that the device will not leak water and moisten surrounding obj ects, no matter in what position the apparatus may be placed.

In use the gummed flap of an envelope is brushed over with the protruding portion II of the lamp-wick, which will convey sufficient moisture to the same to enable the envelope being readily sealed, without, however, transmitting enough water to moisten the contents of the envelope or the portion of the flap adjacent to the gununed section.

\Vhen using the device heretofore described for sealing envelopes, I prefer to employ a narrow tube, just wide enough to approximately correspond with the gummed portion, while if the device is also to be employed for sticking postage-stamps, I shall use a tube nearly, if not quite, as wide as the width of such a stamp.

As illustrated, this device can be readily manufactured from sheet metal, stamped, &c., and provided with a metallic screw-cap, as shown, thereby producing a very cheap article for oifioe use, which, when nickel-plated or otherwise suitably ornamented, forms a very handy and neat device for practical use.

In Fig. el I have shown a moistener slightly modified, the enlarged portion B being supplied with a stopper, 0, of cork, rubber, or other suitable material, in place of the screwcap,such change in construction. being readily accomplished without departing from my invention.

It will be observed that this device, using a lamp-wick fitting the contracted opening in the tube a snug fit, possesses m any advantages over fountain-brushes, the principal one being that it will not leak water, no matter in what position it may be placed, while at the same time it can be produced at a price much less than any other device for the same purpose with which I am acquainted. It will be further observed that the lamp-wick used in my device possesses capillarity in the greatest degree, so that the portion l-l, projecting from the tube, will always be moist, no matter in what position it may be held, thus radically distinguishing my moistener from a fountain-brush, the hairs of which will invariably dry as soon as the brush is held in an upright position.

I am aware that stamp -1n0isteners have been made in which a brush of cotton, wool, or similar material has been used, the top of the implement being provided With avent, and I do not therefore claim such a device as my invention. In such devices the water will invariably escape through the wiper unless, when not in use, it is kept in an upright position with the brush or wiper uppermost. In this case the liquid will escape through the vent and then soil everything near it. These objections are overcome in my device by using a wicking made from a woven fabric and by contracting the lower end of the tube at a, which contraction forms a stricture, so called, and preventsan escape of liquid, except that passing through the capillarytubes of the wicking, and even then only when the j liquid outside of the tube is removed from the Wiper.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure to me by Letters Patent of the United States As .an improved article of manufacture, an envelope and stamp nioistener consisting, essentially, of a flat thin tube, A, having on its upper end a circularenlargement, B, provided with a screw-cap, C, said tube having on its lower end an inwardly-projecting neck or stricture, er, and being-fitted with a flat wick of Woven fabric reaching to within a short distance of the circular enlargement, the whole being constructed and combined in the manner as and for the purpose set forth.

:In testimony that lclaim theforegoing-as my invention 1 have hereto set my hand in. the :presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ABRAHAM J. ELIAS.

Attest:

MICHAEL J. STARK, WM. 0. STARK. 

